The Hallow
by Caseyx457
Summary: Bella lives in a world of darkness. Where the only way to survive is to kill. A chance encounter with a mysterious immortal will change her destiny forever. But when the one you love is your world's biggest taboo, are you brave enough to risk life itself? Mature
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

Darkness.

It was all I'd ever known. I was born under a dark gloomy sky and dwelled in the deep pits of the Hallow, a dark lake filled with unknown creatures, that was surrounded by caves and thick forest, ever since. The hallow was my favourite place. It was hideously dark and eerie, but it was quiet and to me, the black water filled with leaves and dead plants was sort of beautiful.

The moment I'd been "_created_", and by that I mean created and not born, I was tossed into a life of shadows and death. We were strange creatures. I wasn't a fabulous exotic being, nor was I human; although my mother had been human before her death. Technically, I wasn't even a living creature. My heart was cold and un-beating, blackened by my sour blood. The deep undergrowth of a dead forest, filled with brambles, creatures, rotting leaves and natural poisons, concealed us; protected us, even. Or perhaps it protected others _from _us.

Either way, I was not permitted to leave.

_Ever._

Not that I'd want to. I was dangerous; A savage, a hunter; _a killer_.

The sun never shined through the forest, or lit up the Hallow. _Death had picked the right home for his children_. So I'd resigned myself to the fact that I would never see the sunlight. I would never feel the warmth on my skin or rejoice as the rays lit up the world around me. The closest thing to a tan I would ever get is if they decided cremate me when I died.

But death was a long time away, so I didn't bother counting on it.

I sighed and dug my fangs into the jugular of a rodent I'd been saving as I watched my twin from the murky water below. I wasn't hideous by any standards, however I wasn't a beauty like other females of my kind. My hair was long and chocolate with curls that fell in ringlets past my shoulders. My eyes were a deep shade of brown, that almost looked black in this obscurity. I wasn't tall by any means either and my frame was slender and soft. To the other nests, I looked to be easy pickings. However, those who picked a fight soon discovered I was a survivor.

I had stayed alive for what seemed an eternity of endless night with only one living relative and nest mate; my cousin, Rosalie. We are from the same creator, but share different mothers. Our kind are not compatible with the human body, so the hosts don't generally survive long after impregnation. The children survive in the dead carcass of it's host until it's time to enter the shadows_. Even in birth we are born into death..._

A rustling of leaves to the west of the Hallow startled me and I sprung up, tossing aside the carcass of my meal. A female emerged and I tensed, teeth bared and ready to jump into action if she provoked me.

The thing with my kind was that everyone wanted to kill you. We don't feel remorse or regret. One immortal dead was nothing but extra food for the rest of the nests. A family member might mourn your loss for a second but we quickly move on; we're void of emotions, so we don't generally get too attached to others.

The female's eyes were dark and veins were protruding under her sockets; she was thirsty. I could tell what had led her here, her eyes locked firmly on the rodent carcass. This wasn't going to end well, I'd almost fully drained it.

I watched in horror as the urge to attack took over her. Her eyes narrowed and her body coiled tight like a spring. The female was in hunter mode and she was preparing to kill me.

I took in my options; I could stay and fight, I might lose a limb but the female was younger than me, only about 80 years to my 300; I could win easily.

But that was the thing.

I was not like the others of my kind.

I _felt._

I _hurt_.

And I didn't want to kill a mere child over a rodent carcass. So I tried plan B: _reasoning_.

"Stop," I begged, my voice barely a whisper. "We don't have to do this. You can have it."

As a sign of surrender, I went to toss the carcass to her. But I moved too fast and she viewed it as a threat. She sprung and I was powerless beyond that point.

My natural instincts took over and I knew I was about to kill. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. The female was fast; but I was faster. She pounced at me, hands clawed and screaming. Her screams were enough to pierce my eardrums, it sounded like nails going down a chalkboard. Knowing it was do or die, I let the animal inside control me. I grabbed her side with one arm and with the other, I swiftly ripped into her chest cavity. She cried out in pain and tried to scramble away with a fist sized hole in her body, but it was too late; I'd already won.

Blood poured out of her eyes and mouth before her body went limp and she became mute.

The veins that marked her as a creature of the night reseeded and without them she looked almost... _angelic_. Well, apart from the large gaping hole I'd created in her chest.

For the first time since I saw the female I really took in her features, now that she wasn't trying to kill me. She had beautiful glowing red hair and porcelain skin that seemed almost translucent, even in the dark. Her bottom lip was fuller than her top lip, making it look as if she was pouting like a scorned child.

I knew instantly she was a child of Edward's line. She was far too beautiful to be any other.

Knowing that the scent of her freshly spilled blood would attract others, I had no choice but to sink my teeth into her neck and drain her.

Her blood tasted disgusting. A mix of animal, rodent, immortal and something else I didn't even want to know about. But most disgusting of all was that I was her_ murderer_. And even though I wish it wasn't, the blood and the rush of the kill was exciting to me. It made me feel alive, but then again closer to death than I'd ever felt before.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't the first time I'd killed. I'd done it a few times before and I had the fang marks to prove it.

But I only did it when it was essential; the only way to survive here was to kill.

I was lucky the few times I was attacked. My challengers were younger, and therefore, weaker than I was.

However, one fateful day a female from the older nests lost her temper. Instead of killing her cousins in her fit of rage, she charged out, looking for an easier target. I happened to be on my way back to the nests and it was too late for me to realize I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You could hardly call it a fight. She threw me around and beat me to the point where it was just torture. I thought it was the end when she cornered me by the nesting caves. I'd hoped to make a dash for freedom, but she smashed my leg before I even had the chance to blink. I coward in the corner, my leg gushing and my body torn to shreds. In a moment of weakness, I begged her to spare me. But she wouldn't listen. _Listening isn't exactly the way of my kind..._

I watched in utter terror as she picked up a large boulder with one hand, as if it were paper in her mighty grip. I could see she intended on bludgeoning me to death and I was powerless to stop it.

"Goodbye, young one," she sneered before throwing down with all her might.

I closed my eyes and waited with bated breath to_ finally_ see the light.

But it never came._ I felt cheated almost..._Darkness still remained.

"Leave her!" A deep velvety voice snarled, its loud boom echoing throughout the cave.

"WHO DARES-" she screeched but the voice cut her off.

"I do!" A second voice retorted, different then the first. I could make out her intake of breath.

"F-forgive me, I had no idea."

"Enough!"

"You must believe me... E-Edward, Emmett...I'm so-"

A giant roar of epic proportion filled the cave and I heard the elder scream in terror. I shielded my eyes and had my leg and body not been so beaten, I would've tried to make a run for it. When I heard the loud crack of bones breaking and a body slump to the floor, I knew my attacker was dead.

But she was the lesser evil now.

My breathing came faster._ Edward and Emmett..._

Males; I was so dead.

There were hundreds of females, but only _four_ males among us. They were the strongest of us all. They protected us from the other creatures that dwelled outside of the Hallow, they hunted humans and provided more vampires to the nests every hundred years. They were dominant and they could kill who they pleased.

There had previously been five males. But the four males turned on one for reasons no one knew. Whatever the fifth male was guilty of must have been a grievous crime. Males are so rare to us immortals that it's almost unthinkable to kill one. However, he was ripped apart and burned, his ash was even forbidden to taint the air. Not only that, but the remaining four named all his children bastards.

He was my creator; Nahoul.

Edward was the youngest of the males, Emmett the middle child, both born to Carlisle. But I feared them none the less. They knew I was a daughter of Nahoul, so they could have saved me for no other reason but to kill me themselves. The others of my line were all dead; Rosalie and I were the only two remaining.

"Stand," ordered the deep and frightening voice. I did so immediately.

I didn't dare meet his gaze.

"What's your name?" My mind went blank. "Your name?" he repeated, this time louder.

"I-Isabella..." I stuttered, from both the pain and the fear.

"And you come from?"

I was confused. _Surely he knew which nest I hailed from?_ "From the bastard nest of Nahoul."

"Hmmm...Nahoul. Of course," he sighed. Suddenly a hand glided across my cheek and down again to caress my chin. It took everything in me not to spring away or attack. "Look at me."

I didn't want to. I didn't want to risk looking at him and wonder if it was the face of my killer. But I had no other choice. If I had any shred of self-preservation, I had to look at him. Disrespecting his authority would surely end in my destruction.

Slowly, I shifted my gaze to him. There were definitely two of them, but one tall figure lurked in the shadows out of view. The one in front of me, however, was terrifying. He was huge and burly. He could squash me with his finger and his thumb. He had jet black hair and teeth that sparkled, even in the dead light of the Hallow. I'd heard enough stories to know this was Emmett.

"What a pretty name," he smiled and grazed my cheek with his nose, inhaling my scent.

I hissed in warning, my survival instinct taking over.

Emmet just chuckled. "A kitten that acts like a tiger." He turned to the shadow in the background. "Edward, you were right to save her. She'd make a fabulous play toy."

"Do whatever you want with her," the silky voice echoed in an emotionless voice.

"Are you sure?" Emmett asked. "I'm more than happy to share. After all, she has more than one hole-" His hand slinking down past my waist to emphasize his point.

"Stop it!" Edward hissed then emerged, scowling.

I don't know what I had expected. I'd only ever caught glimpses when they ventured out to hunt but the second I dared to glimpse at him I was transfixed. I felt blinded by his sheer flawless-ness. He was, by far, the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen in all my years. He looked young, but I knew he was older than I by a large margin. Edward had porcelain skin with full luscious lips and a tall and toned body. His bronze shiny hair was combed slickly back, making him look incredibly sharp and dangerous. Each move he made, it seemed as if a hidden muscle would ripple and my eyes would be drawn to it; like a moth to a flame. His eyes were a deep emerald that seemed never-ending and I could see myself so easily getting lost in them.

Edward was something I'd never encountered before. Even his movements seemed feline-like. He was graceful and careful, as if every step he took he deliberated on. Emmett's eyes held this wicked mirth in them; like he was a child up to no good and he loved it. Yet all I could clearly see in Edward's was a tortured soul.

"Ah," Emmett smiled smugly. "There we go."

Edward looked pained. "Just...leave me out of it."

"I intend to, cousin." He shot back and then turned to look at me. "I only asked where you nest, Isabella, because as a stranger, I would assume that you nested in the Hallow...Considering how often I see you there."

I jumped when his voice shook me out of my stupor and my eyes widened in shock.

"You shouldn't be watching me!" I growled, letting my rage take over before I could control it.

His hard gaze landed on me for a moment and he seemed to be deciding something. He looked me up and down, the mirth in his eyes disappearing to be replaced with...something I couldn't put my finger on.

_"_I'm sor-" I started but he cut me off.

"And I take it you'll continue to visit?" I gave him a blank stare and he continued, "The Hallow, I mean."

"Oh...well...I would like to..." It came out sounding like a question.

"You say it as if it's a question," he stated, his voice almost accusing.

I backed up further against the rock, trying to gain enough space between he and I. My battered body ached in protest at the movement. "I-I...I only meant if I have your permission..."

His brow furrowed and his gaze hardened again to a point where he looked angry. Obviously my answer didn't please him.

He sighed. "And here I was looking forward to the fight in you."

He was inches from my face.

"You won't get a fight from me."

He laughed menacingly. "Oh yeah?" His hand slid up my belly and stopped at the cup of my breast. "I think I have something that could make you _wild_."

"Okay Emmett, you've proved your point."

"When she has her legs spread for me and my cock piercing her stomach, then I've proved my point. Right now, I'm just having some fun."

Edward suddenly charged and snarls and shouts erupted through the cave. They tussled in front of me, blocking the exit of the cave. I was stuck and very confused about how I was in the situation.

Edward's arms wrapped around Emmett's neck and threw him like a disc out of the cave.

Edward's blazing eyes glared at me. "Run."

I blew out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. He didn't have to tell me twice.

I shook my head, as if shaking the memory away.

Once I'd drained the red-haired girl, I sat up from my hunched over position and wiped the remnants of her defeat off my face. Then I softly nudged her into the watery depths of the Hallow. She was the creature's that dwelled below the surfaces meal now.

"I'm sorry," I told her as I watched her submerge. "I didn't want this to happen. You forced my hand."

When she had sunk into the blackness, my eyes moved slowly to my hand. I looked at her heart, which was still a lump of black flesh and gloop in my grip. I threw that in too and it hit the water with a splash.

I was a fool to think we could just walk away peacefully.

There was just no changing what we were. No matter how much I wish I could.

My eyes filled with tears and I couldn't stop as the blood trickled down my cheeks. My heart broke for the girl who was exactly like me, a frightened survivor who was just trying to stay alive and make something out of her eternity. A sob ripped through me and I watched as my blood filled teardrops mixed with the water. I contemplated how easy ending it would be. I could throw myself into the Hallow and be done with it. _I'd never have to kill another again..._

But I knew I was talking shit the moment I even thought it. I was too much of a coward. I think that's why I'd been around so long.

With a deep and heavy sigh, I wiped my cheeks and looked up to the caves to see if it was safe for me to return to my nest; there I could mourn properly for the unknown girl no one will miss. Although I promised myself I would forget him, I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering to the largest cave of all the nests. It housed the males...more importantly, it housed_ him._ It was strange, ever since that day I'd had a strange fascination with him. He was a curious monster.

My eyes shifted over the dark crevice, however all I was met with was darkness. I sighed.

Suddenly, a figure emerged and my cold black heart skipped a beat. I could tell it was him by how he held himself; confident and_...sexy_. The tall figure gazed down on me from above as if he could read my mind.

_Edward._

I don't know what it was he saw when he looked at me. But even the knowledge that he was looking made me feel ..._Different._

Alive.

* * *

**I wrote this story a loooooong time ago and only found it again recently when I got a new computer and had to transfer everything onto it.**

**Figured since I haven't given anyone anything new in a while I'd throw it on up and update with the chapters I have every once in a while.**

**Anyways, if you enjoyed it let me know, never get tired of reviews.**

**~ Casey**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

I returned to my nest without conflict, all the while thinking of Edward. I was lucky I didn't have to concentrate to find the cave which I called home. My thoughts were so scrambled and Edward centred that it would have been hopeless.

The nests were complicated things if you didn't know your way around. In my first one hundred years I didn't venture out at all, until I learned the area and where the danger was. My daily trips to the Hallow had only begun a short while ago. I'd heard others mention in whispers of how it smelt of death and how they didn't know a soul who would venture there if they had another choice.

It was in that moment I knew I'd found somewhere I could go and be undisturbed.

The fire in the cave was roaring, so I knew my cousin Rosalie had returned for the night. Whether or not she brought a companion home for entertainment, I didn't know.

Females often mated with females, just for pleasure or out of boredom. The men were forbidden; I suppose they're much too powerful. They could break our bones in a fit of passion or kills us in the height of climax. Plus vampire females couldn't bear children, so the task of both genders mating should be pointless. But these rules don't stop the males from taking us at their pleasure. Females are expendable here, so if they want us, no one will stop them.

"Rose?" I called out.

My cousin emerged to greet me. We were so different that it was hard to believe we shared the same line. She was tall and blonde, with brown sparkling eyes and eyelash's that fluttered like moths wings. She was slender but her shoulders were wide to accommodate her large bust. To my eyes, she was perfect.

"Bella, where have you been today? Licking the pussies of the elders so they'll forgive you for getting one of their line killed?" She joked, smirking as she glided around the cave.

She had no shame. She made crude jokes and talked constantly of sex and killing because she knew the topics made me uncomfortable.

"No." I rolled my eyes at her. "I was not doing_...that_. I was down by the-"

"Hallow," she finished. "Of course. Where else would you have been but at that mangy mud filled lake of death. It's so you."

"I'm sensing sarcasm in your tone."

"You spend every second you have down there when you're not hunting. What is it about that place?"

"It's quiet. I can think there."

She raised a brow.

"Oh don't give me that look!" I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes. "I know thinking here could get me killed but so can everything! What's a little thinking to an immortal?"

"It's fucking everything!" Rosalie screamed, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder and glaring at me. "They don't want us to be smart or think about things. They want us to follow them like sheep and that's what we'll do. We are walking on a thin rope already. Our creator was ripped to pieces only 200 years ago. To the males, that's nothing; it probably feels like yesterday."

"They don't hold that against us."

"They named us bastards, Bella! That means if you even look in their direction, they'll tear you to shit and then they'll come after me. Thinking about what you could have had or what you've lost isn't helping our cause in the slightest."

"They will not tear us to shit." I argued and turned my back on her to go to my furs.

"Oh really? The males that hate our guts and killed our father won't tear us apart and burn the pieces?"

"It's not like that!"

"And how do you know?"

Rage that had bubbled under the surface suddenly exploded out of me. "Because Edward saved my life!"

"It was from a female-"

"No...from Emmett. He tried to take me after the female was dead."

Rosalie froze. "He tried to take you?"

"I didn't want to tell you. I knew you'd take it all wrong."

In an instant Rose was on me, her hands holding my arms down and the rest of her pressing against me, making escape impossible. She bared her teeth and her eyes turned black and veiny. She was utterly terrifying.

"You're lying!"

"It's the truth, you know it is."

She glared at me, looking for any indication that I wasn't telling the truth.

"Never! You are never to speak of this again!" she hissed and a growl rumbled in my chest.

"Rose-"

"Not of Edward and especially not of Emmett. Forget it even happened."

"You can't make me forget."

"But I _can_ rip out your tongue."

We said nothing then, our eyes locked with each others speaking silently. She was warning me. If I became a threat to her survival, be that by acting strangely or speaking of Edward, she wouldn't hesitate; she'd kill me. The only reason she didn't kill me now is that we were all that remained of Nahoul's line.

"You're forgiven," she spat the words at me. Her venom laced words told me differently.

I ripped my arms from her grasp. "I didn't ask for your forgiveness."

She snarled but I ignored it and plonked down onto my furs to rest. I lay there with my eyes closed, listening to my fuming cousin abandon the cave. She was probably going to whore herself out just so she wouldn't have to spend her resting time with me.

I tossed and turned for most of the time. Sleep wouldn't find me.

No matter how hard I tried, all I could picture in my mind was a pair of deep emerald eyes.

No, Rose couldn't make me forget. _Nobody could._

***~*The Hallow*~***

There was a soft breeze in the air as I walked from the caves to La Push, the biggest forest we had here. It basically enclosed our kind away from the outside world. I had no idea how the wind even fought its way through the overgrown forest to grace us with its presence, but I was glad it did.

Every slight breeze felt like a breath of life into my cold dead body.

And it made for good hunting. Every scent was mixing in the wind, making me salivate at the prospect of a decent meal. I had fed off rodents and small game for a while now, not really wanting to go full on hunting.

If it was dangerous near the caves, then I had no words to describe how hazardous hunting was. When my kind hunted, we switched into feral mode. There was no control over it, you just let go and soon you'd find yourself knee-deep in warm delicious blood.

But if you were to run into another vampire while hunting...well, it would only end in a fight to the death. Much like when the red-haired girl attacked me. She was hunting, there was no changing her mind when she decided to kill me.

I relaxed my shoulders and stood with my eyes close, facing La Push. Slowly, I inhaled and switched off my mind. Wind whipped at my hair and my feet moved of their own accord. Warm moist liquid soaked my lips and dripped down my chin while I gulped mouthfuls of oozing delicious blood. I think it was deer I'd killed, I didn't bother opening my eyes. I liked not seeing better, I felt at peace.

Another soft breeze twirled around me and a scent assaulted me and pulled me from my meal. My body instantly went into alert mode. I couldn't understand how I missed smelling this looming threat. It was so close. I knew at once it was too late to run. I sprang like a vice into a crouched position, ready to defend. I scanned everywhere around me, desperately searching for my enemy.

But instead I saw _him_ standing in my enemy's place.

"Edward," I whispered, so shocked to see him that I dared to speak his name.

His dark eyes ran over my body as I slowly erected myself. His normally slicked back hair was in disarray, pieces jutted out wildly in every direction. It did something to me and between my legs tingled at the sight of him. His long fingers ran through his hair, pulling at the roots before he spoke.

"I came to ask you if you've been whoring yourself to my cousin." _Wow, he doesn't beat around the bush..._

Rage flooded my veins. "Excuse me?"

Suddenly he grabbed a tree trunk and ripped it from the forest floor, flinging it in anger. "Have you been fucking Emmett?"

I glared straight back. "What's it to you if I have?"

He snarled and his breath came fast. "I fucking knew it...I knew I shouldn't have-"

"Saved me? Yeah maybe you shouldn't have. You would have saved yourself all this regret."

I had no idea why I was talking back to him. As if I stood a chance with him if it came to a fight. But something about him told me he wouldn't hurt me.

Edward looked at me, his expression disbelieving. "You think I regret saving you?"

"I can see that you do. I just don't know why you care."

"I don't," he spat.

"Then why are you here?"

Edward's nostrils flared and his eyes blazed. "Because I need to know for my cousins safety. It's my duty to protect him and...and_ you_." He calmed significantly, the fire in his eyes only smouldering now. "I have to protect you...you're a member of Nahoul's nest and he was my father's cousin. It's my duty."

My dead heart pumped in my chest and then went silent again. I didn't know if Edward had a hidden agenda or if he generally felt protective of me. Either way, his confession made me feel that strange feeling again.

I decided to tell him the truth, what grounds had I to punish him for being rude? I was a nobody.

"I haven't laid eyes on Emmett since the day you stopped him."

His eyes caught mine and he stepped forward. He was so close, his sweet breath was whooshing into my face making me disoriented. One step closer and I could feel his body pressed against mine. I could taste his sweet lips as my own fought for dominance.

"You're not lying?" he asked.

"I wouldn't lie to you."

He moved ever closer, his head tilting to the side. I didn't dare move, for fear that if I did he'd snap out of this trance and leave me, like he probably should do.

"You better not be." He warned.

Snarls somewhere in the forest ripped us from our moment and I knew the others would catch the scent of my meal soon.

"I have to go," I told him, regretfully.

"I'll protect you. You don't have to leave." He promised.

"I don't need your protection. Depending on others to save you will get you killed, you can only rely on yourself."

"I admire that, but you're wrong. You can trust me."

I laughed, though nothing was funny. "I trust you least of all." _Especially with my feelings._

He smirked, but I could see a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Good, you're right. I'm not to be trusted. Especially with someone like you. I'll walk you to the Hallow."

***~*The Hallow*~***

We didn't speak as we walked. Or talk. He kept his distance from me also.

Yet I was just content that he was there.

When we arrived at the shimmering black water, my heart sank into my stomach and began to rot there. I knew he'd leave now and who knew when I'd see him next; if I ever saw him again.

"I'm sorry for how I acted." He said and I jumped at the sound of his voice. "I'm not usually this abrupt. There's just something about you that makes me...different; on edge."

"Sorry?" I offered.

Edward laughed softly through his nose. "Can we start fresh? No murderous females, or deviant cousins."

"I suppose...that would be nice."

He held a hand out to me and I shook it gently. "I'm Edward of the Cullen nest. My father is Carlisle of the Cullen nest. I am sire to a large line close to the La Push forest."

I felt silly telling him my puny line. I was a bastard, my father had been beheaded and burned, probably by Edward or his father. And I had no other cousins apart from Rosalie. "I'm Isabella of the bastard nest of Nahoul. I was one of the last he had before...um..." _your nest brutally murdered him... _

_"Ah, _I see." At least he had the courtesy to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"You speak as if he died honourably." I wish I could have taken it back the second I said it. I feared I'd stepped over the line.

"He died a traitors death. It doesn't make your loss any less though."

I didn't know what to reply with so I didn't. I didn't want to overstep any boundaries.

"Do you know why they call this the Hallow?" Edward asked, his tone filled with the excitement of sharing a scary story.

"No, I never thought to ask." To ask who, I don't even know. I never spoke to anyone except Rose and in her book, questions were a _no-no_.

"They say before God created humanity, he made his other children; vampires. He gave them their own beautiful garden and fresh water to bathe and drink from. But these children were not what he had imagined." Edward sunk onto his hunkers and played gently with the water; riddled with the blood of lost souls.

"They were angels, but only of death and destruction. He realized he was mistaken in creating them when they began feeding on the life of his other beloved creations."

"The humans," I guessed.

Edward smiled crookedly. "Yes, the humans."

A stray piece of hair fell from behind my ear. Softly, ever so softly, Edward caught it and tucked it behind my ear, his cool fingers grazing my cheek. They stayed for a moment longer than they should have before he quickly took it back, as if my skin had burned him.

"He began with the women; he made them barren so never again could death be born into the world. Then, he took the sons of the immortals; they all began to die. Lastly, as life filtered away from the creatures, the beautiful garden began to rot, until the only thing left was the clear water of the lake."

I looked around me and tried to picture green fluffy grass, ripe fruit and leaves that were any colour but brown and black hanging from the trees. I imagined the water being as clear as glass, with beautiful fish swimming happily.

"Finally, all but one male lay dying beside the beautiful lake as his maker prepared to end him. His lover held him in her arms, begging for him to be spared."

"Why was he the last to die?"

Edward seemed delighted at my question. "You're clever. His lover was human and so his heart was not as dark as the others."

I thought of the humans Edward bedded to add to the population. _Did he feel lighter when he was with them?_

"Just as the end loomed near, the immortal asked that as his dying wish, God spare and protect his great love and whatever family she may have after his death. God agreed to this. The immortal died and his love was safe."

"The immortal's creator was a fool." I shook my head

"Why do you say that? Would you not do such a thing for a dying man?"

"Not before checking to see if his love was carrying his child."

Edward laughed and it was like bells ringing to my ears. "My, my you are a smart one."

"So was she? Pregnant, I mean."

"Yes and God could do nothing but watch as the child slowly killed her, using her life to start its own. She gave birth next to the lake, knowing she would die where her lover had. She had a son and then slowly, her body slipped into the clear water, turning it black with blood forever."

"Wow," I whispered in awe. "So this is Hallowed ground because our ancestor was born here? That's the most amazing story I've ever heard."

"There's so much you don't know about our world, Bella. I can teach you it all."

"Really?"

"Yes," he answered. However, then he looked at me with a serious expression. "But no one must ever find out. If they knew, I don't want to know what would happen. Only males are supposed to know the legends and have the knowledge that has been passed down from father to son. If the others found out...I'd be forced to..."

"To not see me again," I continued for him. The thought of not seeing him again hurt a lot more than I thought it would.

He stood and looked away from me. "No, they would force me to kill you. Then I too would be killed."

He stood for a moment, his final parting words made me want to cry tears of blood. _"A traitors death."_

Just like that, he was gone.

I felt the blood I'd just drank start to come back up.

* * *

**So there's another one, filled with lots of ancient Hallow history. Hope you enjoyed.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews I've already received and don't forget to leave another.**

**Happy reading.**

**Casey**


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